DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE RECEIVES PHASE I INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON TRAINING OF FOREIGN MILITARY PERSONNEL
Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White has received and
is reviewing the conclusions and recommendations of Phase I of
the Department of Defense's Inspector General Report on the
Training of Foreign Military Personnel. The Inspector General's
report is part of the Department's efforts to prevent a
recurrence of the use of objectionable materials for the training
of foreign military personnel as occurred in the 1980s.
On September 30, 1996, Secretary White asked the DoD
Inspector General to review a March 10, 1992 report by the
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight
and supporting material. This action was taken because of
questions raised by the use of objectionable training materials
in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility and in the
School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga. The Inspector
General determined that the March 10 report was adequate
for concluding that no deliberate and orchestrated attempt was
made to violate Department of Defense or U.S. Army policies, that
the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Oversight decision not to pursue the issue of individual
responsibility was justified, and that further investigation to
assess individual responsibility was not required.
The Inspector General investigation concludes that the
Department acted appropriately in 1992 to stop the use of
improper materials in training foreign military officers,
Secretary White said. Secretary Cohen and I are committed to
doing everything we can to prevent such mistakes from happening
again.
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control,
Communications and Intelligence Emmett Paige, Jr. is reviewing
and updating an August 1992 policy memorandum on training foreign
military personnel for reissuance as a DoD directive as
recommended by the report.
The publication of the memorandum as a directive will ensure
that agencies within the Department of Defense have regulatory
guidelines on providing intelligence training for non-U.S.
persons. The directive will also provide specific guidance for
the office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for
Intelligence Oversight as well as other intelligence oversight
activities for their scrutiny of intelligence training for
foreign students.
On October 7, 1996, the original tasking of the Inspector
General was expanded to examine how training conducted at the
School of the Americas is reviewed and approved (Phase II) and
examine intelligence training for foreign personnel throughout
the Department of Defense (Phase III). These latter two tasks
will be addressed in future reports.
